According to the declaration and list of outcomes of the summit officially disclosed by China afterwards, the summit focused on institutional construction, and promoted the establishment of dialogue mechanisms and the signing of memorandums of understanding between China and Central Asia in various fields through the establishment of the mechanism of the China-Central Asia Leaders' Summit.

On the occasion of Nauruz in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, inviting them to the China-Central Asia Summit. According to the content of the disclosed, Xi said he "looks forward to discussing with the leaders of Central Asian countries the grand plan for developing China-Central Asia relations."

So what are Xi's grand plans to discuss with Central Asian leaders? Is the establishment of a cooperation mechanism the cooperation plan of the leaders of China and Central Asia? In the final analysis, people have to ask, what is the grand plan behind China's efforts to strengthen relations with Central Asian countries?

On May 5, in Xi'an, Kyrgyz President Zaparov, Kazakhstan President Tokayev, Tajikistan President Rahmon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Uzbekistan President Mirziyoyev and Turkmenistan President Berdymukhamedov took a group photo at the opening ceremony. (Florence Lo/Joint interview via Reuters)

The Belt and Road is a topic that cannot be avoided. In 2013, Xi Jinping proposed the "Silk Road Economic Belt" initiative in a speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, and Central Asia became the first place to take the initiative of the "Belt and Road". The Central Asian countries were the first to publicly support the initiative. Over the past decade, the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, which stretches from China in the east to the Arabian Peninsula in the west, roughly coincides with the scope of the ancient Silk Road, has developed rapidly.

Key projects along this economic corridor have been substantially advanced, and countries and regions along the route have continuously strengthened connectivity from energy to railways, from park construction to platform development, and regional cooperation has achieved remarkable results. The Central Asia Natural Gas Pipeline is China's first transnational gas pipeline. The Kamchik Tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in Central Asia to date. Bilateral international road transport agreements between China and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and other countries, as well as multilateral international road transport agreements or agreements between China and Bahaji, China Kazakhstan and Russia, and China and Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine have been signed one after another. China and Iran are also strengthening docking cooperation in the fields of roads and infrastructure.

The China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi'an, China, and the magnificent scene arrangement of the Chinese side contrasted with the simple gathering itinerary of the G7. Leaders of the G5 member countries take photos outside the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, May 20, which is the main venue of the summit. （Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool via Getty Images）

Among the six economic corridors along the Belt and Road, in addition to the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor, the China-Laos Railway under the Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor has been put into operation, and the Yawan High-speed Railway and China-Cambodia Cooperation Railway projects have progressed smoothly. In the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the construction of the Multan Expressway and Gwadar Port continues to advance. China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, involving 17 railway sections; In terms of highways, there are 4 projects and 5 road sections. The New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor and the China-Europe Express logistics system are even more important. In terms of railways, as of December 2021, the New Eurasian Land Bridge has a total of 12 projects under construction, proposed construction and completion, involving 4 road sections. The slow progress of the China-India-Bangladesh-Myanmar Economic Corridor is dominated by China-Myanmar cooperation, which is due to India's inactive factors and contradictions and obstacles in the relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

On May 5, Hiroshima, Japan, leaders of G19 member countries visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and planted trees to commemorate it. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan via Reuters)

Judging from the construction progress of major economic corridors, the layout of the overland Silk Road has begun to take shape. In the next decade, on the one hand, China should make up for the shortcomings of the development of existing economic corridors, and at the same time, it should also bring into play the interconnection effect of various economic corridors.

This was demonstrated in the declaration of the China Central Asia Leaders' Summit. The seventh point of the declaration states that the parties stressed the need to consolidate the important position of Central Asia as a transport hub of the Eurasian continent, accelerate the construction of the China-Central Asia transport corridor, develop China-Central Asia-South Asia, China-Central Asia-Middle East, China-Central Asia-Europe multimodal transport, including the China-Kazakhstan-Turkey-Iraq (Lang) transit corridor, trans-Caspian transport routes passing through the ports of Aktau, Kurek and Turkmenistanbashi, and give full play to the transit transport potential of the city of Termez. The parties are willing to work together to improve the transportation infrastructure, including the construction and upgrading of existing railways and highways from China to Central Asia. All parties pointed out the importance of completing the feasibility study of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Ukraine Railway, and will accelerate the construction of the railway. At the same time, all parties pointed out that it is of great significance to build the Zhonghata City-Ayaguz Railway, ensure the smooth operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Ukraine Highway, and realize the normal operation of the China-Tajikistan Highway and the "Western China - Western Europe" Highway. It was noted that it was important to study and develop optimal transit transport options for travel from Central Asian countries to and from South-East Asia and other Asian countries. All parties will take effective measures to increase the volume of goods transit, including border ports, and build an all-round, complex, three-dimensional, green, low-carbon and sustainable transportation infrastructure system between China and Central Asia."

Xi Jinping and the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries jointly planted six pomegranate trees after the China-Central Asia summit. (CCTV)

Central Asia's geographical location is very special, and the next step will be as a key bridge connecting China with the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, West Asia and Southeast Asia, and the revitalization of the entire Eurasian continent is just around the corner. Although the grand plan discussed between China and Central Asian countries is only the construction of a cooperation mechanism, if the overall potential energy of interconnection can be revitalized, it will definitely have a far-reaching impact on the geopolitical pattern.

The G7 leaders' summit, held concurrently with the China Summit in Central Asia, is essentially a distribution center for the most core countries in the West to launch policies to contain China. In the face of Western encirclement, the key to China's breakthrough lies in the Belt and Road Initiative, and China's grand plan for the development of Eurasia can withstand any obstacles to development if properly implemented.

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